PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES#39 - INDIAN TERRITORY AND OKLAHOMA

THE Indian Territory was
a part of the Louisiana Purchase
from France, in 1803, and at that
time the present use of this
region was suggested by President
Jefferson "to give
establishment in it to the
Indians of the eastern side of
the Mississippi in exchange for
their present country."
President Monroe, in 1824,
deploring the evils growing out
of the dwelling of the Indians in
the Gulf States, their rapid
degradation, bloody feuds and the
frequent conflicts between the
State and National Jurisdictions,
recommended that the tribes
should be moved beyond the
Mississippi. In 1830, during
Jackson's administration,
Congress authorized their
transfer to the unorganized part
of the Louisiana purchase,
including the Indian Territory.
Here they were established on
tracts proportionate to the size
of each tribe, with titles vested
in them and ample protection.
Since then, however, Kansas has
been wrested from them, and for
ten years the rising tides of
colonization have beaten against
this domain of the Indian
Territory. Before the Secession
War, the civilized tribes were
wealthy and prosperous, with
large farms and plantations and a
lucrative trade with the Southern
cities; but during the war
thousands of the Indians enlisted
and fought in the Federal and
Confederate armies, and at its
close the tribes were reduced to
poverty. Since that time they
have advanced notably in
prosperity and civilization, and
now form large farming
communities.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

A
Boomer's Home in Oklahoma; Indian
watching for
Buffaloes; Oklahoma, the Rush
Across the Border, 1889.